Chapter 41
The housewarming party was a great success for both the host and the guests.
After taking two bites, Shopkeeper Fu's eyes lit up. He didn't even care about his manners. He stood up and walked around the table, tasting every dish.
"Okay, okay, this one is good... this one is not bad either! This one has a very special taste, let me try it again... Mmm, it's so delicious——"
Shopkeeper Fu's actions caught everyone's attention. Even Feng He, who had been struggling for a long time, looked up, half believing and half doubting: "Shopkeeper Fu, are you exaggerating too much?"
Shopkeeper Fu scooped a bowl of pickled fish soup and soaked fresh noodles in it under Lu Shang's guidance. He took a bite and found the noodles chewy and soft, while the pickled fish soup was fresh, sour and spicy. The wonderful taste made him exclaim in amazement. After taking a bite, he was tempted to take another bite.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Feng He didn't ask any more questions.
He picked up the bowl and chopsticks himself and tasted the sweet and sour carp that was closest to him. The outer layer of the sweet and sour fish was fried until crispy and fragrant, and after being poured with a specially prepared tomato soup, every piece of fish had a sweet and sour taste.
The Feng family's main residence is in the city, which is two levels higher than Tang Town. However, he has lived in the city for more than 20 years and has traveled to many other places, but he has never tasted anything like this. Who would have thought that sour and sweet could be combined so vividly and beautifully.
Guanhelou is just a rather inconspicuous business among the Feng family's many businesses. Manager Fu may have to consider whether these dishes can be included in the Guanhelou menu. Feng He can only taste them.
With these two as examples, the curiosity of the others also increased greatly.
Even the people who were happily munching on spareribs at the tables next to them stopped and looked over at what was happening here. If it wasn't so indecent, they would have wanted to come over and try it.
At this time, Jiang Wanning walked around the other tables and reminded each table, "There's still pickled fish soup in the kitchen. If you want some, go get a bowl and try it. But we don't have enough bowls and chopsticks at home, so there are no spare bowls right now."
"I have some at home! Madam Lu, please wait, I will go home to get it!" After saying that, a fat lady with a broad waist left her seat and hurried home while twisting her waist.
After the old lady brought the bowl, Jiang Wanning went to the kitchen to fill it with the still hot pickled fish soup. Even though most of the fish meat had been taken away, the remaining ones were enough for a bowl and two more pieces. Lu Shang put little salt in the soup, so the soup base had only a light salty taste, which was exactly what he made it for.
After Jiang Wanning took care of the remaining tables, she returned to the main table.
During the time she was away, all the dishes on the table had been touched, except for a dish of blanched Chinese cabbage, which no one was interested in. The whole fish banquet prepared by Lu Shang was naturally the most popular.
However, when she sat down, Jiang Wanning found that there were already a lot of dishes in the bowl, with a little bit of each dish on the table.
Lu Shang leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I've picked up some for you, something no one else has touched. Come and try it."
Jiang Wanning's fingertips twitched, and the corners of her mouth rose uncontrollably.
Without waiting for her to finish the food in the bowl, Lu Shang turned around and served her another bowl of pickled fish soup. The noodles had been soaked in it and after stirring, every noodle was covered with soup.
Jiang Wanning didn't have a big appetite, so after eating so much, she was basically full.
After the guests at the table finished eating the fish, their stomachs growled with fullness, but their mouths were still reluctant to accept it. So they tentatively tried other dishes and surprisingly found that they tasted good too.
For example, the salt and pepper spareribs are fried until crispy, fatty but not greasy. The roasted duck is not as good as the signature dish of Guanhelou, but it is better than other restaurants.
Even the vegetarian dishes that don’t look very appealing are surprisingly delicious, especially after eating a lot of fish and meat, a few chopsticks of them are particularly refreshing.
From the beginning to the end of the meal, it took everyone nearly an hour to finish. This was because most people did not drink alcohol, so they could finish the meal so quickly.
It doesn't get dark so late in late summer. As the sky darkens, Grandpa Pang and Fan Sanniang's family are the first to say goodbye. Jiang Wanning gets up to see them off and gives them the remaining meat and vegetables in the kitchen, which she puts in large Haikou bowls and returns to the children when they come to school in two days.
At the doorstep, Fan Sanniang felt guilty: "I should have stayed to help you clean up. There are so many dishes, how long will it take you to clean them up by yourself... Otherwise, I'll come back tomorrow. Don't bother tonight, I'll come tomorrow and we'll talk to you."
Several female members of the Pang family also said so.
"No need, everyone go back and have a good rest, I can take care of it here. Besides, there are so many neighbors here, so if we can't finish it in one day, we can do it in two or three days. Just take it slowly. And thank you for coming all the way to attend our housewarming party. You have worked hard."
Both Grandpa Pang's family and Fan Sanniang's family brought gifts to the banquet. Grandpa Pang's family bought ready-made food directly from the town, and there were also two mattresses made by Pang Liang's mother. The mattress surfaces were a little rough, but the cotton inside was solid.
Fan Sanniang's family brought four or five baskets of fresh peaches, so all the peaches on the table today were from his family. There were also three pounds of sesame oil, which was properly placed in the kitchen.
It was difficult to return the housewarming gift, and Jiang Wanning did not say any polite words. She only invited the two families to come and visit again when they had time in the future, or if it was not convenient at home, it was okay to let the children stay here overnight.
After the two families left, the manager of the carriage and horse business and Mr. Huang also said goodbye one after another.
Then there were some neighbors. The men took their children home to sleep first, and the women stayed behind to help clean up. At this time, they sat in the yard, each holding a peach, eating peaches and chatting.
Unconsciously, we mentioned today's housewarming party. Every dish on the table was highly praised, especially the dozen or so fish dishes on the main table. The more we didn't eat them, the more tempting they became.
As for the guests at the main table, most of them had left, and only Shopkeeper Fu and Feng He were left. Shopkeeper Fu was so full that he could not walk, while Feng He was still thinking about the old man.
Lu Shang pretended not to see his dilemma and only spoke to Shopkeeper Fu: "Shopkeeper Fu, what do you think of today's fish banquet?"
"Very good, very good, that's all I can say--" Shopkeeper Fu gave a thumbs up.
"Look, what about the fresh fish supply I mentioned earlier?" Lu Shang stopped talking and stood up. "But there's no rush. You can look into it later when you have time. It's getting late today, so let's not talk about these business matters."
"I happen to have two squirrel mandarin fish left in the kitchen. You can take them home and fry them again before eating, then pour the sauce over them. They may not be as good as when they were fresh out of the pan, but you can still try them."
"Ah? Okay, okay, then I won't be polite. Thank you so much..."
Shopkeeper Fu was so happy that he ate and took things. However, Lu Shang was not much behind him. Judging from the performance of this shopkeeper and owner from Guanhe Tower, unless there was a big accident, he would not be able to get this business.
The last ray of sunset disappeared from the horizon, and all the people who had been feasting in the courtyard dispersed. Jiang Wanning sent the aunts who had stayed to help back home. Looking at the mess in the courtyard, she turned around and smiled at Lu Shang, saying in unison, "Let's go to bed!"
The next day, all three members of the family slept until mid-morning before waking up.
Grandma Lu circled the door twice before being dragged away by her new friend to go to the end of the alley to weave some silk. She didn't have to worry about the messy tabletops at home. Grandma Tian waved her hand and said, "I'll ask my daughter to help. She's very skillful!"
Grandma Tian only gave birth to one daughter in her life, Aunt Tian. After her husband passed away, Aunt Tian took her in to live with her. Making lace was a way for her to kill time and also to supplement the family income.
Grandma Lu had no choice but to be dragged away by her.
So when Jiang Wanning and Lu Shang woke up, the yard was still quiet. They thought Grandma Lu had not woken up yet. After washing up and eating something, they picked up the fitness exercises that had been left behind for a long time.
Maybe it was because he had been traveling a lot recently, but this time, Lu Shang completed two sets of exercises completely. Apart from his shortness of breath, he was no longer as half-dead as before.
He was about to say something proud, but suddenly stopped talking.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Wanning wiped the sweat off his face and turned around to ask.
Lu Shang said in surprise: "Aning, I seem to understand what you meant by the warm current. I, I seem to feel it——"
Jiang Wanning was also surprised, but then she felt happy: "My husband, if you just keep practicing for a little longer, maybe after a year or two, your body will be completely healed!"
Speaking of her, she doesn't go out as often as Lu Shang, but she has persisted in doing this set of gymnastics. Whether it is due to psychological reasons or something else, her physical fitness has improved a little.
In addition, she has been well-fed and well-maintained these days, and she no longer has to do endless hard work like before, so her wrists are not as delicate and easily broken.
Just as the two were about to pack up their things in the yard, they heard someone knocking at the door. When they opened it, they saw that it was several neighbors nearby.
Aunt Tian said as she put on her apron, "My mother was waiting at your door early this morning. When she saw your old lady leave, she quickly dragged her away. But no one was there to talk to her."
"Well, my mom asked me to come and help before she left. I saw that there was nothing to do at home, so I came here at the right time. I happened to run into other neighbors outside, so we can help each other and finish it quickly."
As they were talking, Aunt Tian walked in, followed by a group of neighbors who were both familiar and unfamiliar. They were all used to doing housework and were much more efficient in cleaning up than Jiang Wanning and Lu Shang.
Later on, Aunt Tian felt that they were in the way, so she just asked them to sort out the gifts received yesterday, and they were responsible for washing all the dishes in the yard.
The two young men looked at each other for a long time, gave way to others, and finally had to leave.
However, they did not really pack up the gifts. Instead, they went to the kitchen and sorted out yesterday's leftovers. Some of the dishes with more meat were separated and kept, and those that had become a little smelly were thrown away. There were also four or five fish under the stove that were still alive.
Lu Shang went outside to kill the fish, lit a fire, and made a big pot of golden fish soup.
After the tables, chairs, dishes and chopsticks outside were cleared away and his golden soup fish was ready, the aunts who were helping outside leaned over the door and looked in.
Jiang Wanning said with a smile, "Aunts, go home and bring two big bowls. This is the golden soup fish that my husband just made. Take it home quickly so you don't have to cook at noon. Just soak some steamed buns and noodles in it. It will definitely be a very comfortable meal."
"Soaked rice is fine, and rice in soup is also delicious." Lu Shang shouted.
The people outside the door looked at each other and then dispersed.
After a while, everyone came back. In addition to the women, there were men from several families who had borrowed tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks and came to take their things back.
Aunt Xu's family simply brought a car, and several men worked together to move the big table, chairs and stools up, and then drove away.
The kitchen was bustling with activity.
Lu Shang was only responsible for cooking. When he was done, he ran out to get out of the cold, leaving Jiang Wanning to distribute the soup to everyone. As she did so, she would ask, "There are some dishes left over there, mostly untouched. There's fried pork and chicken and duck. Do you want any?"
Some wanted it and some didn’t, but in the end, all the leftovers were distributed.
Someone sighed: "With Mr. Lu's cooking skills, he will be able to be a chef in a restaurant in the future!" As soon as this was said, it won the approval of many people around him.
Jiang Wanning just smiled and said nothing.
By mid-afternoon, the house was finally empty and the messy yard had returned to being tidy, or rather desolate. Only the kitchen was still warm.
Grandma Lu didn't even come back for lunch. When Lu Shang went out to ask, he found out that she had been abducted to Aunt Tian's house and was waiting to go out to chat and knit after dinner!
Lu Shang: “…” That’s fine too.
Since the old lady has something to do, Lu Shang will not restrict her. Besides, she has a few friends here. If she has fun, she may not want to go back to Lujia Village.
He went home and had a quick bite with Jiang Wanning, then went back to his room in a daze. He didn't wake up until the evening after a good rest.
Lu Shang went outside to do something unknown, while Jiang Wanning was in the house thinking about the next review plan, or rather, Lu Shang's literacy plan.
That night, after Lu Shang returned to his room, Jiang Wanning asked him a lot of questions.
"My husband, don't you know a single word?"
"Did you feel a sense of familiarity when you read books or other things before?"
"Oh, you recognize all the words I taught Dabao and the others..."
Lu Shang answered honestly, but he didn't expect that after he fell asleep, Jiang Wanning was beside him, worried and unable to sleep for half the night. After tossing and turning for a long time, she finally realized -
Teaching Lu Shang to recognize words should not be called review, it should also be called enlightenment.
She had to overturn her new plan and start over. The most important thing was to extend the literacy time every night so that she could recognize most of the words within the specified time.
Lu Shang was sleeping soundly, completely unaware of what was waiting for him.
The next day, after the two finished their exercises, Jiang Wanning wanted to ask him to do some morning lessons, but who would have thought that the shopkeeper Fu of Guanhe Tower sent his waiter to invite Lu Shang to discuss the fresh fish business. Lu Shang was overjoyed and left home immediately.
Jiang Wanning was silent for a while, then he could only sigh: "Then I'll have to save it all for tonight."
Lu Shang, who had no idea that his good days were coming to an end, was in high spirits all the way. After arriving at Guanhe Tower, he went straight upstairs. When he opened the door, he saw that besides Manager Fu, Feng He was also inside.
After a round of pleasantries between the three, Shopkeeper Fu got straight to the point: "This is what I'm talking about. The Young Master and I have discussed this and are very interested in Mr. Lu's fish banquet, so I wanted to talk to you about the possibility of a partnership."
Lu Shangxian said, "Don't call me Lu Xiucai anymore. To be honest, I just went to the government office a few days ago to transfer my business registration. Now I'm not a scholar anymore." As he said that, he handed over the deed he brought with him, and the official seal underneath indirectly confirmed his words.
The two people across from them were both stunned. Shopkeeper Fu picked up the deed in disbelief and wanted to take a closer look. Feng He was even more incredulous: "What do you mean... not a scholar anymore?"
Most people couldn't understand how Lu Shang could fall from being a scholar to being a businessman, and for someone like Feng He who had persisted in studying for the imperial examinations for many years, Lu Shang's behavior was even more absurd.
Lu Shang came up with a way to deal with outsiders: "It's not my wish, but my family is poor and I'm often ill. Being a scholar is great, but it can't support me and my family. Only by changing my status to a merchant can I do business with the restaurant in an upright manner and make money."
He smiled bitterly and said, "If I had a choice, I wouldn't want it."
Shopkeeper Fu and Feng He were silent for a moment. Feng He murmured, "If you had told me earlier, I could have supported you to continue your studies..."
Lu Shang shook his head, silently rejecting this possibility.
At this point, the real victims no longer said anything, and Shopkeeper Fu and Feng Hezi were not in a position to say anything more. They just felt regretful and helpless.
Lu Shang brought the topic back to the beginning: "Regarding the fresh fish business, it's basically the same as before. I contact the farmers who supply the fish and provide transportation services, including compensation and other matters. It's the same as with the duck meat business. However, in addition to supplying the fish, I can also provide some fish preparation skills, and I will teach the chefs in the store until they learn it."
The two sides had already collaborated on supply and transportation, so Shopkeeper Fu had no other doubts. However, the latter made him wonder, "I wonder what Lu Xiu... what does the cooking training Boss Lu mentioned mean? Is it a buyout like with the braised dishes, or a profit-taking?"
Lu Shang said, "Because there are so many dishes that can be made with fresh fish, the whole fish banquet we had the day before yesterday is just the tip of the iceberg. Even if Guanhelou wants to launch new products later, I can still provide them, so simply buying out the fish might not be appropriate."
"So what does Boss Yilu mean?"
"I was thinking, since this is our first business from Guanhelou, I'll probably need your continued support in the future. So, I'd like to take a 10% profit. In the future, whether the shop's chefs want to learn new skills or research new products, I can cooperate."
As one came out, they saw that both people opposite them were surprised.
The two of them discussed this matter last night and proposed a profit-sharing system. However, considering that Lu Shang helped Feng He contact the old man, their bottom line was 40% profit.
Lu Shang's initiative to make concessions undoubtedly made them happy and suspicious.
Fortunately, Lu Shang followed up by saying, "Of course, if it's convenient for Shopkeeper Fu and Young Master, please promote Lu Logistics for us. We can also do other business that requires escorting goods, regardless of restaurants. If you have any other questions, we can discuss them."
After hearing him propose this, Manager Fu understood and no longer had any doubts about his concessions.
Feng He also took "On Current Affairs" from him and hurriedly found a teacher to read it yesterday. The teacher almost snatched the book away. Just the look of cherishment on his face made Feng He know that he had got a good thing.
Without waiting for Manager Fu to answer, Feng He said, "Of course it's no problem. When I go to the provincial capital later, I will help you with publicity. Also, my family has some silk fabrics that were originally in cooperation with the escort agency. The contract expires at the end of this year, so I will hand it over to you then."
Lu Shang's smile widened: "Thank you so much."
After a round of tea and snacks, Lu Shang probed again: "Speaking of which, did you two taste the vegetables and fruits on the table the day before yesterday?"
After getting an accurate answer, Lu Shang smiled and said, "What a coincidence! The vegetables and fish for the housewarming party are from the same place. And the peaches among the fruits are grown by a fellow villager from my village. His peaches are big and juicy, so they must be good even if they are used to entertain guests."
"Great, Boss Lu wants to take control of the entire supply source of Guanhe Tower!" Shopkeeper Fu laughed.
Lu Shang said, "If you trust me, it's certainly possible. We have pork and mutton in Shuxi Village, but I'm not sure if they can meet your requirements."
It is indeed convenient to entrust all the purchases of goods for the restaurant to one person, but at the same time, the risks are also extremely high. If this person makes any mistake, the business of the entire restaurant will come to a standstill.
Although Manager Fu was tempted, he knew that he couldn't put all his hopes on one person.
He thought for a long time and decided to accept some fresh peaches and vegetables at most. He didn't want all the vegetables. What he collected from Lu Shang only accounted for 30% of Guanhe Tower's daily demand.
Lu Shang quickly agreed: "To be honest, even if you ask for more, I can't help you. Although farmers do grow vegetables, the quantity is not large. Excluding those that don't sell well, there is only this much left. In addition, we only want fresh ones delivered daily, and the loss at night must also be taken into consideration."
He explained the difficulties involved, but said the restaurant didn't need to worry about the losses, they were all his business.
After sitting in Guanhe Tower for half a day, Lu Shang took out another 500 taels of silver notes. With these advance payments, he could form a logistics team.
Feng He had basically decided to accept the written guidance from the "old gentleman", but he still had to go home to hand over the business in his hands. He decided to go to Lu Shang's house in half a month to deliver the tuition and ask Lu Shang to pass it on to him.
On the way home, Lu Shang saw a very beautiful hairpin in a jewelry store. It was made of jadeite and was emerald green all over, which looked very pleasing to the eye.
He went over to ask the price, and found out that the hairpin was only three taels. He couldn't resist the temptation and bought the hairpin. He asked the shopkeeper to help him pack it and took it back as a gift for Jiang Wanning.
When he got home, Dabao and Pang Liang were just about to start their afternoon homework.
Lu Shang quickly went to get a pen and paper, followed him into the west wing, and started his first class.
The two children were very curious about his arrival and looked at him several times, but after seeing that he was writing seriously, they gradually lost interest and turned their attention back to themselves.
After Jiang Wanning arranged the two children, she couldn't help but walk to the back.
It was not a big deal at first glance, but when she saw clearly what Lu Shang had written, her face suddenly turned horrible.
"Husband... Is it possible, I mean, that you should change the way you hold the pen?"
"Huh?" Lu Shang looked up, not feeling embarrassed at all. "Isn't this right?"
Jiang Wanning didn't know how to explain to him, so she had to bend over and hold his hand personally, adjusting the posture little by little, and then helped him write three words before leaving him.
But as soon as she turned around, she couldn't help but close her eyes and take a few breaths to calm her chaotic heartbeat.
As for Lu Shang behind her, he only remembered the warm touch on the back of his hand. As for the force and direction of the pen... he hurriedly blocked it with the paper, not daring to let Jiang Wanning see his unchanged handwriting again.
Because of this unspoken emotion, Lu Shang's entire afternoon of study was in vain.
Although he learned to recognize a few characters, it was only recognition. If he were to write, regardless of whether the writing was beautiful or not, the missing strokes would be a big problem.
As the school day was about to end, Lu Shang started to feel a bit down.
He changed to a clean piece of paper and first wrote down the revenue from the meat ducks in the past few days, then roughly calculated the profits from vegetables and peaches, as well as the basic expenses for setting up a logistics team.
If you don't calculate it, you won't know. Once you calculate it, you will be shocked. If you really want to set up a logistics team, even if you only buy five vehicles and hire twenty or thirty people, or just do business around Tang Town, it will cost at least five or six hundred taels.
There was no other way, so he had to temporarily give up the idea of buying a carriage and horses and consider the possibility of long-term leasing.
Perhaps he was thinking too hard, and it wasn't until someone knocked on his desk that he suddenly came to his senses. He looked up and saw Jiang Wanning looking helpless: "Husband, school is over."
"Hey? Where are Dabao and the others?" There was no third person in the room.
Jiang Wanning said, "Grandpa Pang has arrived, and the two children have already returned home."
"Ah..." Lu Shang finally felt a little embarrassed. He rubbed his hands and sincerely admitted his mistake, "I'm sorry, Aning. I didn't pay attention in class."
Jiang Wanning was easygoing. "It's okay, if you can't calm down, then that's fine. There's still nighttime, and you'll be alone then, so I can keep an eye on you."
Lu Shang's face changed from guilt to confusion to shock, and his mouth grew wider and wider. He swallowed unconsciously: "What do you mean there's still night?"
Jiang Wanning said matter-of-factly, "My husband, aren't you anxious to learn to read? I've made up my mind. From now on, I'll teach you to read at night. Study for two hours every night. In just half a year, you'll be able to recognize most of the commonly used characters. Let's start with learning to read, and then practice writing once you've learned them all."
She had a good plan, but Lu Shang was not a studious person.
He looked miserable and was about to refuse, but Jiang Wanning didn't give him time to object. She said hurriedly, "I'm going to prepare dinner now. We should hurry up, otherwise it will be too late when we finish studying."
Lu Shang wanted to cry but had no tears.
Jiang Wanning was so focused on the literacy class in the evening that she only prepared a simple dinner. Fortunately, there was still some leftover golden fish soup from yesterday, so she added a few handfuls of vegetables and two pieces of tofu, stewed them together for a while, and then it was ready to be served.
There were some flatbreads at home, so she put the flatbreads on the lid of the pot while heating the soup. After the soup and flatbreads were ready together, she called Grandma Lu back. In just half an hour, dinner was ready.
Jiang Wanning went back to her room to prepare lessons first. When Grandma Lu heard that her eldest grandson was going to school again, she was so happy that she kept urging Lu Shang to go back and study hard, not giving him any chance to delay by washing dishes.
Lu Shang had no choice but to go back to his room reluctantly.
In the house, Jiang Wanning had already prepared paper and pen. The pen was given by the bookstore owner. Although the paper was not the best, it was the best in the house.
After seeing these things clearly, Lu Shang hesitated to speak: "Or..."
"My husband is back?" Jiang Wanning waved. "Then let's get started. Today is only the first day. We'll just roughly learn fifty words. If you can get used to it, we can add more later."
Lu Shang was an adult after all, and even though he was afraid, he knew what was good and what was bad. Now that he saw Jiang Wanning was so concerned, he had no room to retreat.
But before he started, he gave her the jade hairpin he had brought back.
Jiang Wanning carefully opened it and put the hairpin on. Instead of looking in the bronze mirror, she looked up and asked Lu Shang, "Does it look good?"
For some reason, Lu Shang's heart skipped a beat and his mouth felt dry. "...She looks good. Aning looks good no matter what."
Jiang Wanning smiled and started learning to read today with this new hairpin.
Lu Shang was just not used to writing calligraphy. As long as he was not asked to write, it would be easier for him to just learn to read.
Moreover, he had his own unconventional method of learning to read. Often, Jiang Wanning only needed to explain it twice before he could remember the pronunciation and shape of a word.
This method has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that you can remember things quickly. The disadvantage is that it is not obvious at first, but when you see more words, the disadvantages will become apparent.
Jiang Wanning was pleasantly surprised by his learning speed: "My husband is truly intelligent. At this rate, it won't take him half a year, he'll be able to recognize most of it in just two months."
Lu Shang was flattered by her praise, but when he checked again——
"Wait, why do I remember that the word I just mentioned had the same gesture?" Characters with the same shape but different pronunciations naturally have different pronunciations.
Jiang Wanning listened to it once, but found that Lu Shang had mixed up nearly half of the fifty or so words. In her opinion, how could Lu Shang confuse two completely unrelated words?
Lu Shang was also very depressed, and couldn't help but complain in his heart, how could Da Zhao's writing have nothing to do with what he knew, which made it impossible for him to even guess.
Two hours later, the task of fifty words was completed, but both the teachers and students felt shocked.
That night, even the casual chat before going to bed was cancelled. The two of them lay flat on their backs, not knowing what they were wondering.
So much so that the next day, whenever Lu Shang saw Jiang Wanning, he couldn't help but think of the torturous night. He ate breakfast in a hurry, skipped even his gymnastics, and ran out of the house as if someone was chasing him.
He went to Fengyuan Village and Lujia Village in one day.
The fish and vegetables in Fengyuan Village were all sold and consumed by the villagers themselves, and there was no cooperation with restaurants or tour groups. So when Lu Shang proposed daily purchases, he was immediately invited to the village chief's home. In the end, a cooperation agreement was reached based on the price of three cents per fish and two cents per pound of vegetables. When these things were transferred to Guanhelou, they became four cents and three cents respectively. With small profits but quick turnover, Lu Shang also made a profit.
Then there are the peaches from Fan Sanniang's family. The fresh peaches are not valuable this year, and Guanhelou doesn't want to be taken advantage of. Considering the relationship between the two families, Lu Shang didn't make any more profit from the price difference. He bought from them at the price offered by Guanhelou, two cents per catty, every three days, and purchased 500 catties each time.
This is because the fruits in Guanhelou are given as a gift before meals. As long as a customer enters the store, he or she will be given a plate of fruit. If it were other restaurants, I am afraid they would not be able to collect so much.
After finishing all this, it was time for him to go home.
Just thinking about the literacy class that would start in the evening, Lu Shang felt a little reluctant to go home for the first time. But it was he who proposed the literacy class, and Jiang Wanning had worked so hard for it, so he couldn't be the first to back down.
But for Jiang Wanning, who stayed at home, the day was not very smooth.
This was mainly because Dabao and Pang Liang had a small test, which covered all the big characters they had learned since they entered school. Jiang Wanning read out the pronunciation at the top, and the two of them wrote it down below.
Jiang Wanning was already very unhappy with the two of them whispering to each other during the quiz. After the quiz was over, she collected the test papers and was speechless after reading them.
The words on the paper were written in a scattered manner. It cannot be said that they don't know how to write, but they certainly haven't learned it well. Many characters are missing strokes, and as for being written beautifully, there is no question of it being beautiful.
This made Jiang Wanning very frustrated. Thinking about the extra class last night, she began to doubt whether it was because the students had poor comprehension or because of her poor teaching.
But when she looked back at her father's enlightenment in her childhood, there was not much difference.
This bad mood continued until Lu Shang came back. He brought something for Jiang Wanning again, this time a bag of preserved fruits. The sour and sweet preserved fruits made people feel less depressed.
Just then, Grandma Lu asked again, "How was Shang'er's study yesterday?"
Lu Shang said, "Alas, my memory is really too bad. I haven't touched a book for a long time. When I looked at it yesterday, I couldn't remember anything. I'm really ashamed." He said this to Grandma Lu, but more importantly, he said it to Jiang Wanning.
Grandma Lu was startled, but she still comforted her: "It's okay, it's okay. Shang'er, you have been smart since you were young. As long as you study hard for a while, you will definitely remember it. There is no need to rush!"
"Okay." Lu Shang agreed.
Lu Shang was the one who washed the dishes after dinner today. Jiang Wanning did not go back to her room, but stayed beside him to help.
But Lu Shang suddenly said, "I've been thinking about this too. Learning to read and write is not something that can be accomplished overnight. I'm grateful for your tireless help. Otherwise, I really don't know what to do."
He thought a lot on his way home today. After all, he didn't want to be an illiterate who couldn't read or write. And with Jiang Wanning's patient teaching, there was no reason for him to stop studying.
Jiang Wanning paused, lowered her head quietly, and asked after a moment, "Husband, do you think my teaching is good? Or how does it compare to your previous teachers... I'm not saying to compare with the teachers, I'm just worried-"
"Good." Lu Shang looked at her and said affirmatively, "Aning's speech was very good. Better than all the teachers I met before. I should say she is the best."
He smiled and said, "It's a pity that I'm the only one left now. You won't see any results in the short term. When the young master of Guanhe Tower comes, Aning will know how good my speech is."
Regardless of whether he was sincere or not, Jiang Wanning felt relieved after hearing it.
At this time, she did not know that in the next few years, whenever she was wavering due to external doubts, it was Lu Shang's words "the best" that made her firm in her determination to continue running the women's school, and even created a new era of prosperity for women in Dazhao to enter officialdom.
As for now, of course, I will continue to teach Lu Shang how to read!
As Lu Shang no longer had any resistance to learning, his reading speed gradually increased.
Jiang Wanning was not the type to be eager for progress. She would review each ten characters from the beginning after teaching them. Occasionally, when she came across a character with an allusion, she would tell Lu Shang the story of the character to help him deepen his impression.
Even people like Lu Shang, who had no great interest in learning, were immersed in her leisurely narration.
The next day, Pang Liang and Dabao came to Jiang Wanning to apologize.
It turned out that they took the test papers home yesterday, and their terrible results earned them a meal of fried pork with belt. When they came to school this morning, they thought about their slackness during this period.
Dabao cried and said, "Auntie, I'm sorry. I haven't done my homework for a long time. You told us to review it after we got home, but I just played around when I got home. That's why I failed the test. Auntie, please don't chase me away."
Pang Liang was also sobbing: "Sorry, sister, I, I was not obedient..."
After hearing the two crying like that, Jiang Wanning couldn't get angry anymore. She held each of them by the hand and patiently asked about their recent activities. Finally, she said, "How about this, from now on, I'll review with you before class every day, okay? Or if you can stick with it, I'll add half an hour of morning class so you don't have to do homework after you get home."
She actually wanted to keep the two children at home and have them take a monthly break like in other academies, but considering that the two children were still young, she had to give up the idea for the time being.
The two children murmured for a long time and chose the latter: "We want to go to early class."
"Okay then. I'll talk to Uncle Pang tonight. If it's convenient for him to take you, then we'll add an early morning class. If it's too much trouble, you still have to go home and work harder."
"good!"
At night, Jiang Wanning told this to Uncle Pang, of course, still using Lu Shang's name.
Uncle Pang quickly agreed: "No problem! But it will be two days later. I will tell the villagers who take the oxcarts these two days that from now on, the oxcarts will arrive half an hour earlier."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard at all. It's all for my little grandson. I want him to study hard and pass the imperial examination!" Grandpa Pang laughed heartily. When he carried Pang Liang into the car, he couldn't help but give him a big kiss. "Grandpa's sweet baby!"
In the following days, Lu Shang went to discuss business during the day and learned to read at night. Sometimes when he was free in the morning, he would do some aerobics or attend the first half of the morning class. At the end of the day, he was exhausted both physically and mentally, but also felt extremely fulfilled and satisfied.
Jiang Wanning packed up the calligraphy she had written recently and was going to deliver it to the bookstore when she went out to buy groceries at noon. However, she was stopped by two people who rushed out from the side as soon as she arrived at the door of the bookstore.
"That's her—"
Two men, one tall and one short, rushed out. They stood on Jiang Wanning's left and right respectively, with their arms wide open, blocking all her way.
Jiang Wanning was startled, and even more frightened when she realized what was happening. She pretended to be calm and asked, "Who are you? What are you going to do?"
The taller one asked, "Are you the one from a long time ago who could draw on letters?"
Jiang Wanning was stunned and nodded slowly.
The shorter one yelled, "Look, big brother! I told you it was her! I know her! Give her the money and ask her to write to us!"
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