He will definitely be different next year. After more than half a year of hard memorization, and with the guidance of his teachers and seniors, he now has some knowledge.
Qin Yao opened her eyes and stared at him for a few seconds. After making sure that those eyes were not deceiving her, she nodded in satisfaction and said:
"It just so happens that I also need to go to the capital to settle accounts. The roads are not peaceful this year, so I will escort the master and his family to the capital. You can go with me and visit Aunt Qi by the way. Let the head of the family know where the nephew has gone so that she can feel at ease."
Qin Yao spoke as if she was going to meet a relative of an acquaintance. Liu Ji nodded subconsciously, and then he reacted. He widened his eyes in shock, and his mind exploded.
"Meet, meet the prefect's wife?" Liu Ji asked weakly, suspecting that he had just heard wrong.
Seeing Qin Yao nodded, Liu Ji was so nervous that he quickly wiped the sweat on his forehead that was steamed by the hot water vapor. He had never been to an official's house in his life, and he went to the prefect's house as soon as he arrived. This was too exciting!
"Madam, are they willing to see us?" Liu Ji asked nervously.
Qin Yao glanced at him suspiciously, "You were not very active in currying favor with the powerful in the past? Now that such a great opportunity is in front of you, why are you still scared?"
Liu Ji thought to himself, usually I am just saying it for fun, but now that you are serious, how can I not be nervous?
Moreover, the most powerful people he had thought of before were people like Mr. Fan. He could not even think about the prefect's family.
and!
"What do you mean by currying favor with the powerful? Madam, don't say such harsh words. I just want to find a proper job to do," Liu Ji said in a low voice.
Qin Yao chuckled, seeing through it but not saying anything, and lifted her feet from the basin. Liu Ji subconsciously handed her a foot towel, and Qin Yao took it and wiped it dry, put on her shoes, stood up and said:
"I'm not good at these. I'm only responsible for getting you in. The rest is up to you. I don't ask you to leave a good impression, I just ask you not to mess it up."
After saying that, seeing that Liu Ji was so nervous that his breathing was disordered, Qin Yao sighed softly, pulled him up, patted his arm and said:
"Don't treat her as the wife of the prefect. Just treat her as the aunt of your junior brother. We are not asking for favors. We are just visiting you out of courtesy, giving you a New Year gift, and explaining where we took your junior brother."
The only people in this world who can help you unconditionally are your biological parents.
If others actively help, there must be a bigger trap waiting for you to fall into.
So before asking someone to do something for you, first consider what you can offer in exchange.
But if you don't have any purpose, don't plan to take shortcuts, and the kernel is stable, you won't panic.
Liu Ji watched Qin Yao enter the bedroom and took a deep breath. As expected, the less he thought, the less panicked he would be.
The next day, Qin Yao went to the Lotus Courtyard with Liu Ji to confirm the date for Qi Xianguan's return.
Because it would be difficult to travel due to heavy snow later, we planned to leave on the third day of the twelfth lunar month.
Qin Yao only had two days to prepare, and she was having a headache thinking about what to prepare as a New Year gift.
When visiting other households in the village, they would just bring some candy and meat. When they sent Ding Yuanwai, they would only bring some farm specialties, fresh fruits, or snacks, chickens, ducks, etc.
Qin Yao didn't have much memory of the details of social gift-giving in Sheng Country, so she had no choice but to ask Liu Ji to ask his senior brothers and teachers.
Knowing that Qin Yao was going to prepare a New Year gift for her aunt, Qi Xianguan didn't say anything polite like "it's not necessary" and directly wrote a list to Liu Ji.
Later, Gong Liangliao added that after all, Qi Xianguan rarely encountered this kind of work. He was now in his ancestral land, but his parents in the capital would help him prepare the New Year gifts for each family and send them over from the capital.
In order not to be late, the manager in charge of the New Year gifts usually has to set out in mid-November so that he can return to the capital before the New Year.
The gift specification list that was finally handed to Qin Yao was so complete in specifications from top to bottom that it could be bound together and used as a reference for gift-giving.
"Your teacher and senior are very good." Qin Yao put away the list with satisfaction, and told Liu Ji to remember to arrange the substitute teaching matters of the literacy class. The literacy class cannot be suspended for a few days just because they are away.
Of course Liu Ji knew this, and signaled to Qin Yao not to worry, he would arrange his own affairs.
But it is not easy to arrange it, for the simple reason that he has too many students!
Qin Yao didn't care how he arranged it. Although she knew the specifications of the gift list, there were still many things to consider in the actual preparation.
When officials and noble families exchange gifts, they usually choose tea, leather, cloth, wild delicacies, precious medicinal materials, etc. If they have a farm, they will also prepare some fresh fruits, but this is just embellishment, and the main attraction is the first part.
However, with all these highlights, Qin Yao looked at her savings of 280 taels of silver and decided not to try to show off.
The local eggs, chickens and ducks from the countryside were still new things, so Qin Yao bought two baskets of eggs and four chickens from Grandma Wang.
It is troublesome to transport living things, and four chickens are already the limit of Qin Yao’s patience.
Some of the fabrics and leathers were better than what she bought, and Qin Yao didn't intend to give them any more rags.
She was wondering whether she should go to the county town to buy two cans of high-quality tea as a major purchase, when she suddenly heard the workers from Xiahe Village chatting in the cafeteria about the gossip that the Yang brothers had caught a good guy.
Qin Yao's heart moved, and she hurried over to ask, "Did the Yang brothers go into the mountains this year?"
When the workers saw that it was her, they called Manager Qin and asked him to give her a seat.
The worker from Xiahe Village answered, "Yes, they went into the mountains twice this year. They didn't get anything good the first time, but when they came back yesterday, I heard they killed two deer and picked a large bunch of Ganoderma lucidum."
Deer are very valuable, their skin is useful, their horns are used as medicine, and their meat is considered delicious compared to other wild species. There is also wild Ganoderma lucidum, which is not particularly expensive in large quantities, but is difficult to find and has a low demand.
Qin Yao stood up immediately, "Then I have to go and take a look!"
Qin Yao was worrying about the New Year gifts and just as she was about to fall asleep, the pillow hit her. She was afraid of missing it, so she immediately rode to Xiahe Village.
When they arrived at Yang's house, the people had already carried the deer into the city. Qin Yao hurriedly rode his horse to chase them and stopped the two brothers halfway.
"Madam Qin, what are you doing?" Brother Yang, who was stopped, asked in confusion.
They didn't think that Qin Yao, who was able to kill tigers, would be interested in their two deer.
The weather is cold, so we are not afraid to release the dead deer, but if we take them to the capital, they will definitely not be tasty. Qin Yao said, "I want to buy these two pairs of deer antlers and the Ganoderma lucidum you picked."
The two brothers were stunned for a moment, then they laughed again. Yang Da teased, "You are well-informed."
Qin Yao also laughed: "Of course, don't you see how many workers from Xiahe Village there are in my factory?"
"Okay, stop talking nonsense. Cut it off for me. It won't delay your entry into the city." Qin Yao urged.
If someone else came, the two brothers might not be willing to sell because they would find it troublesome, but since it was Qin Yao, it wouldn't matter if they delayed for a while. (End of this chapter)
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